I have posted this as a question about GAAP using a "real world" example which becomes evident in the last papagraph. Here is an job position in New York State. Associate Psychologist As an Associate Psychologist you would function as an advanced clinician in providing a full range of psychological services to individuals in one or more settings. You might be required to manage projects, conduct psychology-related training, supervise subordinate staff, and conduct psychological research. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: On or before the date of filing your application, you must meet the following requirements: a. an earned doctoral degree in a field of psychology AND b. EITHER a one-year, full-time clinical internship or traineeship OR one year of psychology experience in a clinical setting, under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. NOTES: 1. Degrees in educational counseling, guidance and counseling, student and personnel services, human relations, etc. will NOT be accepted. Your doctoral degree MUST be in a field of psychology. 2. Your degree must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. You must pay the required evaluation fee. Does this suggest that Private companies are paid to evaluate institutions outside the US and if so what criteria do they use?
Yes, there are private credential evaluation services. See http://immigration.about.com/library/weekly/aa022800a.htm for an article about foreign credential evaluation in the U.S. ------------------ Kristin Evenson Hirst DistanceLearn.About.com
I think that this question raises important issues. First of all, yes, there are a large number of private foreign-credential evaluation services. Dr. Bear has a whole section on this in his book and can say a lot more. But my understanding is that these companies are of most use making sense of foreign degree titles that are different from those used in the United States. They look at the details of your courses and other work, and make a sometimes subjective determination of what familiar American-style degree it most resembles. The thing is, these are credential evaluation services. They aren't university evaluation services. They look at your transcripts and at the details of your syllabus. They don't really look at academic quality issues or send out inspection teams to make international site visits. The problem with this is that the degree mills will sell you a fine looking transcript (usually at extra cost) that contains details of any imaginary coursework you specify. The Trinity's and the "prestigious non-accredited universities" do that all the time. So it seems to me that there are two issues here: 1. Is the school credible in the first place? I suppose that GAAP comes into play here if only because there really isn't anything better at present. 2. If the school is credible, then is the particular degree equivalent to an American doctorate in psychology? The New York regulations in the example seem to be collapsing that distinction. But it may be implicit in an assumption that the credential evaluators on their approved list wouldn't accept a transcript from a mill, no matter how good it looked. But what standard they use to distinguish between credible schools and mills is left unstated.
When I posted this message I naively believed that there may be an objective way to determine the viability of schools such as MIGS. After all , if New York State would except a degree from MIGS than that would be good enough for me. However after I read the suggested article on these evaluator's I said. "This gets more interesting by the minute!" The second thought I had was "enough of this ! I will buy John's book this afternoon" For the record, I intend to apply for this position if i am able to complete a Ph.D. from a regionally accredited university. ( Capella- if they accept me ) When I began to explore the possibility of going for a Ph.D. I came to forums such as this one to get more information and they have been extremely informative and helpful in making an informed decision. I have since learned this entire subject is fascinating in it's owm right. mark
GAAP itself depending on the purpose you need the degree for does not guarantee acceptance. An example of course is Berne University. It is recognized by the Ministry of Education (St. Kitts & Nevis) in the country it has it's campus (uses a local college's campus). Berne University is listed in the International Handbook (UNESCO's). The foreign credential evaluator comes in as possibly a more credible way to judge. I myself contacted two in regard to Berne and got the response from one "no" and the other without saying no, kindly sent me some criteria they use. Some of which is to look at a country like St. Kitts and Nevis and see if they have a public university (experience and a basis for accrediting other schools). When they do not, they look to another local public university. In the english speaking caribbean, this is the University of the West Indies. They then ask if UWI would recognize the University. I imagine in the case of a field like psychology they would evaluate whether some of the other criteria were met. MIGS says it's Ph.D. in Psychology is not meant to be clinical. I imagine someone might be able to structure it in a way to include a clinical practicum. You did not say the person had to be eligible for licensure as a psychologist but as an Associate Psychologist (a position which I believe in some states is M.A level). MIGS may qualify. A person might be smart to pay an evaluator before taking that path though. The organization I work for makes individuals whose foreign schools are not listed in a book they have in HR, go to an approved foreign credential evaluator before HR will accept the degree. When I was in the US military, the army made me have a foreign credential evaluation done to count credits toward promotion. As mentioned earlier, John Bear has excellent stuff on this in his book. Good luck with your career goals! North
